Gerrard: Why Ronaldo can’t make it on my dream team

Cristiano Ronaldo (34) is one of the best footballers in the world. But he still didn’t make it into the dream team of Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard (39)! Now the current Glasgow Rangers coach explained why.

“There are some players who play at a different level than everyone else. Like Messi and Ronaldo,” Gerrard said in The Greatest Game podcast with ex-team-mate Jamie Carragher when he was asked to put together a five-man all-star team. “But Ronaldo can’t make it on my team.”

And said, “I’m more concerned with what someone does for the team. Ronaldo wins you things, but for me, team players are more important than individual players.”

Instead of Juve star Ronaldo, Barças Lionel Messi made it into Gerrards Top 5.

There’s an Italian legend in that goal: “Buffon, the best keeper I’ve ever played against.” In defence, Gerrard chose Paolo Maldini, who had only played for AC Milan in his active career. “He was one of my heroes, a one-club man who won many European cups and is damn good-looking too.”

In attack he chose “the three best players” he has ever played against – besides Messi, these are two no longer active professionals: Zinédine Zidane (“His legs always had the ball under control. He slipped. He was simply a god. For me he was a kind of freak”) and Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho (“He did things on the pitch that made you wonder: ‘How did he do that?’).

Gerrard ended his professional career at LA Galaxy in 2016, and the former England international has been coach of the Glasgow Rangers since 2018.